People are often made up of a collection of places.  Where they live and where they grew up define who they are.  I am no different.  I was born in Colorado Springs Colorado; more precisely, the Air Force Academy just outside of Colorado Springs.  So yes I was an air force brat, moving every few years as I grew up.  Before my father retired, my family had lived in 4 different states (Colorado, Texas, Alabama, Montana) and 1 other country (Germany).  At the time of my father’s retirement, I was in the 6th grade, a very tough time for a kid to start over.  Eventually my dad found work in a little town called Rexburg Idaho, near the Teton mountain range.  And this is where I grew up, looking at the Tetons every day and wondering about the future.  Rexburg is an interesting place with an appeal like no other.  It’s a character in the story of my life that continues to affect who I am.  It’s not beautiful except for what surrounds it on almost all sides (the Tetons, Yellowstone, and the Sawtooth Mountains).  Like a scar on an almost perfect face though, it holds you captive, it won’t let you go.  Your eyes have to return to it despite the beauty that surrounds it. Rexburg is also the location of many of my firsts, like a wholly forgettable first kiss, a fist love, a painful first broken heart, and my first and last true love.  Because of this, Rexburg has always had a unique pull on my heart. And even when I feel like I have escaped this pull, the line suddenly pulls tight, the hook bites deeper and I realize I was just being worn down.   I still feel this pull sometimes, even though I live in Fort Collins Colorado now, a town that has its own dangling watch, swaying before my eyes.  Fort Collins is  a town that personifies beauty, and is surrounded by it too.  It has been the location of many more firsts, like the birth of my son and my daughter, but regardless of where I am and what trance I may be under, I feel happy.  I am married to the reason for the rising sun, and in love with her constant rays.  I have two stars, plucked from their celestial perch, who bring me happiness I had no right to expect in this world. And ultimately, this is me, a collection of places, a husband, and a father.  Oh, and I enjoy the outdoors, photography, reading, occasionally writing, and ultimately life itself, as long as I have my sun and 2 stars.